Allan Donald(Southafrican bowling legend):
Sachin Tendulkar has often reminded me of a veteran army colonel who has many medals on his chest to show how he has conquered bowlers all over the world. Which is why I find it amusing when critics suggest that he plays well only at home. Do they realise that they are talking about a guy who has scored centuries in almost all the Test-playing countries?
He only played at the start of his career in Pakistan and has not played too much in either Zimbabwe or Bangladesh - the two new entrants in Test cricket, otherwise I have no doubt he would have reached three figures in these countries as well. As far as I am concerned, he is by far the best I have seen or played against.
I must admit that I was not entirely convinced that Tendulkar had something special about him when I first heard about him. It was prior to South Africa's return to world cricket that the "Tendulkar buzz" was heard around the county circuit. He played a season for Yorkshire, but did not really get going. However, he did score one century in a Sunday League, the rerun of which I saw on television. There was a lot of Sunil Gavaskar in his style, and he also had the balance that nobody else possessed. But these were glimpses of potential and I did not think he would be consistently good for a long period of time.
How wrong I was. Tendulkar got better and better with each passing year and today he is the most frightening batsman as far as bowlers across the world are concerned. Everybody is king at home, and scoring heavily in your backyard has never really impressed me. However, Tendulkar has 16 centuries outside India, which is more than half of all his centuries. Many quality batsmen end up with that many centuries in their entire career, so that number is a clear indication that we are talking about a freak player - someone who is as good and as consistent abroad as he is at home.
As a bowler you have to have your gameplan ready before bowling to Tendulkar. Sachin looks to leave a lot of balls in the beginning, and as a bowler your best chance against him is in the first 20 minutes. During our team meetings, we often speak about the importance of the first 12 balls to Tendulkar. If you get him then you can thank your stars, otherwise it could mean that tough times lie ahead.
Consistency is the factor that makes Tendulkar special. He is often spoken about in the same breath as Brian Lara, but as far as I am concerned, the comparison does not even begin. Lara is not half as consistent as Tendulkar and lacks the discipline of the latter. The left-hander plays in a more loose manner and is not that controlled or patient during the first 20 minutes of his innings. Lara was unbelievable in 1994, but he has never been able to recreate that magic consistently after that.
Which is why I rate my dismissal of Tendulkar at Durban in 1996 as the best ball I've ever bowled in Test cricket. I remember that over very clearly. Tendulkar had just hit me for two boundaries, but I decided to stick to my outside-the-off-stump line. The ball just nipped back sharply and claimed his off-stump. It was a perfect ball and, more importantly, exposed a tiny chink in the army colonel's armour. Since then we have worked on bowling that ball against Tendulkar and have had some degree of success with it.
I don't know Tendulkar too well, but one of the main reasons for his success is that he is able to motivate himself all the time. He seems to be constantly assessing his game and setting new goals for himself. There's a certain passion about the game that is unique to him and nothing excites him more than representing his country.
At 29, Tendulkar is at the middle of his career and from hereon he can score another 15 to 20 centuries, taking him close to the 50-century mark. He will continue to terrorise bowlers for another six to eight years, and, hopefully, he will be able to keep the motivation going.
Great players often decide to retire out of the blue. This is particularly common among those who are family men because they find it increasingly difficult to spend time away from their near and dear ones. I've heard that Tendulkar is deeply attached to his children and might face such a crisis. However, like many admirers all over the world, I certainly hope that he succeeds in keeping his focus on the game for many more years. I think he owes it to the game and to his admirers.
Great Glenn Mcgrath:
The year 1989 was crucial for me because I had just moved from the country into Sydney to play first-class cricket. That was the time I heard of a teenager called Sachin Tendulkar, who had burst on to the scene and was being annointed as successor to the great Sunil Gavaskar. Three years elapsed, and after a century at Perth, he was being earmarked as the next best thing to Sir Don Bradman.
Australia is a country where they love sportsmen of high quality, and I have no doubt that outside of India, you will find Tendulkar's greatest admirers among my countrymen. His centuries in Sydney and Perth in India's 1991-1992 series, at age 19, ensured that his career would be one that all cricket lovers in Australia would follow closely.
Interestingly, I did not witness either innings, but many of my team mates did swear that it was batsmanship of the highest quality -- high praise for a bloke who had not celebrated his 20th birthday.
By the time I made my international debut Tendulkar was already being counted among the best batsmen in the world. Most bowlers knew that his was the crucial wicket in an Indian batting line-up that boasted of many talented batsmen.
I enjoyed some beginner's luck against the little man when I first bowled against him. It was at Sharjah, in 1994, when I first claimed Tendulkar, who chased a short ball and pulled it straight to mid-wicket, where Mark Taylor took the catch. It was not a brilliant ball but the jubilation among my team mates made me realise it did not matter. When Tendulkar is out, you don't quibble about the means; you just celebrate the end result.
That was the first of many contests we have had. It is interesting to note that every India-Australia match is heralded as a Warne versus Tendulkar duel. This has worked to my advantage because I am away from the spotlight and this has helped me get the champion's wicket on quite a few occasions. However, I have by no means got Tendulkar's number and I think the scoreline of our encounters is 50-50. I might have a slight edge in Australia, but in India Tendulkar is truly unstoppable.
I have never made a secret of the fact that I rate Tendulkar the best batsman in the business. As far as I am concerned he is technically the most sound player I have ever bowled to. Add to that the manner in which he plays, always trying to dominate the bowler. Among his contemporaries, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul Haq are often compared to the little maestro. Each has his trademark, but Tendulkar combines all of their qualities to make him the best of the lot. Steve is all about determination and making the bowler earn his wicket. Inzamam possesses a good eye and his lazy elegance makes him one of the best players to watch. Lara has flamboyance, and when he gets in, he always scores big centuries.
But Tendulkar possesses determination, a good eye and has a very high rate of consistency as far as centuries go. This puts him on top of my list along with Waugh. Mind you, Steve is at the top by virtue of his performances in the last nine years, that is between age 28 and 37. Tendulkar has just entered that phase of his career.
As I have mentioned earlier, Tendulkar and I have had many interesting encounters. Of these, I rate his dismissal at Adelaide as the most controversial one so far. It may be recalled that Tendulkar, anticipating a bouncer, had ducked into a ball that kept low, and was hit on the shoulder. Umpire Daryll Harper had no hesitation in giving the batsman out, lbw. I did feel for Tendulkar because I had meant to bowl a bouncer, but the ball had pitched on an odd spot and kept really low.
Since Tendulkar is not the tallest guy around and because he was not offering a stroke, he was out in my opinion. Had he been standing up, the ball would have crashed into his pads and there would have been no controversy. But the world's greatest batsman had been hit on the shoulder and commentators and journalists debated on the decision for the rest of the tour. The incident became infamous as the shoulder-before-wicket dismissal, but Tendulkar never made a fuss about it and went on to score a century in the next Test.
Another interesting episode was during the India-Australia one-dayer in Kenya during the last ICC Mini World Cup. Tendulkar was really pumped up and was going after me from the start of the innings. For a change I was not doing the talking! The little champion was hitting me all over the place and giving me a verbal dose as well. I remember being hit for two sixes over my head, but what surprised me more was that Tendulkar, who is normally unflappable, gave me quite a mouthful between the two shots. I could tell he was really pumped up and determined have to have a go at me. That was the first and last time I saw him take on a bowler verbally.
Even though we have played a fair bit of each other in the last three years, I have hardly ever spent any time with Tendulkar outside of a cricket field. Like me, he has a son and a daughter though my kids are a little younger. From all accounts, he is a family man like me, who spends every minute he can at home. It's not easy to be a cricket icon in India, where cricketers are idolized more than filmstars are. I can't even start to think how I'd have coped with the kind of attention Tendulkar draws. That is what makes his humility and patience with fans even more admirable.
Tendulkar now has 30 centuries in 99 Tests, which makes it a hundred in a little over every three Tests. Assuming he plays another 70 Tests - that is the bare minimum knowing what the itineraries are like these days - he will score 20 more centuries. It's not just a mathematical deduction that makes me certain he'll get 50 hundreds.
I've bowled to the man in almost all parts of the world and I am convinced that for him the impossible number is attainable.
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